Law enforcement officers work outside the Clackamas Town Center mall after a shooting Tuesday. / Craig Mitchelldyer, Getty Images

by John Bacon, USA TODAY

by John Bacon, USA TODAY

A Macy's employee was described as a "hero" Wednesday by a woman who tells ABC News that when a gunman opened fire at an Oregon mall on Tuesday, Allan Fonseca led her to safety and then went back inside to aid more terrified shoppers.

Jocelyn Lane told Good Morning America that she and Fonseca were talking at a Macy's counter in the Clackamas Town Center mall when they heard the first gunshots. She said they ducked under the counter -- and she started praying.

"We both just looked at each other and knew this was a serious situation," Lane told GMA on Wednesday. "And then, Allan is my hero. He knew what to do. He said that we needed to evacuate. And he took me by the hand. And he led me down through the counter and down the escalator and out to safety.

"And this is what is amazing to me. He was my hero because he then turned to me (and said), 'Now that I know you're safe, I'm going to go back and help other people.'"

Fonseca told GMA he helped evacuate the Macy's lower level, then returned to the "shooting floor" to look for co-workers. He said he's not sure why he felt compelled to return to the scene and help others escape. But he said he wanted to save as many people as he could.

The gunman killed two people and wounded one before killing himself, authorities said.

"All I know is that, I knew the exits to the doors," Fonseca said. "And I felt that if I knew how to get out of the mall and out to safety, then I should probably share that knowledge (with) everybody else that didn't know, like the shoppers who don't come here usually and don't know all the exits. So, I decided to go back up because I wanted to check to see if there was anybody in panic or didn't know where to go."

Lay says she's not sure she would have done if he hadn't been there to get her out of harm's way.

"I probably just would have stayed there and probably would have had a little more fear because it's one of those situations where you've seen in previous shootings, the gunman keep shooting and keep looking for different people," she said. "I would have huddled there and hoped and prayed."